Earle Fisher – Memphis Flyer

Robert R. Church and “Boss” Crump were once viewed as political allies. On the surface, they looked like oil and water, but, for years, they operated like a match made in heaven.

Or so it seemed.

Robert R. Church

Church, a Republican, was the South’s first black millionaire. Mayor Crump, a white Dixiecrat, was a political provocateur who willed power over Memphis well through the 1940s.

Author Preston Lauterbach’s essay, “Memphis Burning,” describes how their “bipartisan, biracial coalition” ultimately “controlled Memphis politics and elected most of its officials.”

We see a similar longing for this perceived political utopia in the current electoral landscape. We see polished and seasoned politicians (and a few younger aspirants) angling allegiances with unlikely allies — black democratic congresspersons aligning with Republican Governor Bill Lee; black county commissioners and city council persons yielding to the likes of University of Memphis President David Rudd, FedEx CEO Fred Smith, major real estate moguls, and the like.

Wait. Something seems rather one-sided here.

Boss Crump

It seems that the reach across the aisle is only coming from one side.

In this framework, black political elitism is always hamstrung by an invisible hand of a white economic monopoly. Check the campaign pledges of the most notable elected officials and there we find commonality in donor-ship. This means that what most of us view as black exceptionalism is, actually, black tokenism — a few people of color who have proven themselves to be nonthreatening to the establishment and political status quo.

This tokenism has cultivated a generation of people aspiring for office who long more for assimilation than liberation. Too many black people aspire to (and obtain) positions of influence at the expenses of empowering the masses. They don’t want a more equitable society. They want to be in closer proximity to power. They want triumphalism — a better seat on the bus of injustice and inequity. And they will exploit social justice talking points to obtain it.

A bipartisan and biracial coalition might be possible, but there is no true partnership if only one side makes all the compromises.

If, for instance, white power brokers were sincere about equitable relationships, they’d be on the front lines advocating for equitable access and inclusion in the political process. However, when it comes time to increase voter turnout, “mum’s the word.”

What we are left with is a group of aspiring Robert R. Churches being contained by a group of 21st century Boss Crumps. This matrix is the source of black folks’ political apathy. We can point to the decades of black symbolic leadership that didn’t yield much fruit in our perpetually impoverished neighborhoods. And it is hard to point to progressive and productive leadership when out of 150 of the most populated cities in the country, Memphis was 136 in how well it is run, according to the website wallethub.com.

If we continue this path, we’ll end up like that deceptive dynasty between Church and Crump.

Lauterbach goes on to detail how “short-lived” that “period of biracial cooperation” was. He writes, “In the late 1930s, Boss Crump turned on his counterpart. In the span of a few years, the Democratic machine banished Bob Church, seized his property, broke the family fortune, and dismantled his Republican organization, crushing the most vital arm of black enfranchisement in the city.”

Doesn’t that sound familiar? Past is prologue.

Black political elitism is a myth in Memphis if there is no massive political movement of everyday people (that centers black citizens) to support it. And what the myth of black political elitism has done is bind up our political imagination prohibiting black people from seeing what is possible.

What is possible is the ushering in of a more just, progressive, and equitable class of leaders. A group that gleans the support of the elders and inspires the next generation to become more optimistic about their involvement. The municipal elections this October could very well hold the key to the black political independence of the next 25 years. It’s about time we recognize what Dr. Martin Luther King called, “The fierce urgency of now.”

Dr. Earle Fisher is the Senior Pastor at Abyssinian Baptist Church and founder of #UPTheVote901.

Facebook/Tom Graves

Tom Graves

The LeMoyne-Owen College professor who received backlash for his comments on the June officer-involved shooting of Brandon Webber is still teaching at the college, LeMoyne-Owen officials confirmed this week.

A week after Webber, 21, was shot and killed by U.S. Marshal officers in Frayser, Tom Graves, an author and tenured English professor at LeMoyne-Owen, responded to the incident in a Facebook post.

“So let me get this straight,” Graves wrote. “A wanted felon who shot a guy five times was found in Frayser by U.S. Marshals. So, the fucking idiot tries to run over the Marshals with his vehicle then exits the car with a gun. So, the war he starts with a whole gang of U.S. Marshals, everyone an expert shooter ends with him dead as Dillinger.”

In his post, Graves also commented that Webber’s Facebook post “attest to thuggery, with him holding up fistfuls of cash, as if he were the king daddy pimp. Defending this man is wrong. He should be condemned for what he was and represented and did.”

Graves’ controversial Facebook post

After Graves’ post spread around social media, many took issue with it and some even called for his dismissal. But, the college said this week that Graves will keep his position this school year.

“Professor Tom Graves, a member of the LeMoyne-Owen College faculty, returned to the classroom for the 2019-2020 academic year,” a statement from the college reads. “As an educational institution, we promote the free exchange of diverse viewpoints, even those with which some may disagree or take exception.”

The college’s decision to keep Graves “directly aligns with the college’s faculty handbook, policies, and procedures,” according to its statement.

LeMoyne-Owen officials would not detail what, if any, disciplinary actions were taken against Graves, as the college does not “publicly discuss details of personnel matters, including disciplinary decisions.”

Rev. Earle Fisher, a LeMoyne-Owen alumnus, pastor, and activist was also on the receiving end of Graves’ comments.

“Anyone like Tami Sawyer or the notorious Earle ‘Ain’t I pretty’ Fisher defending this street terrorist are part of why the streets of Memphis are not safe, especially for our black citizens who suffer the brunt of these crimes,” Graves wrote.

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Learning that Graves was allowed to keep his role, Fisher said he expected there to be a “more serious reprimand for such as egregious action. To know that someone who shares those views will still be in the classroom attempting to shape young black minds is far from what I think is the ideal context for higher education.”

Fisher said his hope is that Historically Black Colleges and Universities will “stand more firmly on the tradition of protecting and cultivating black dignity and pride.”

Facebook/Earler Fisher

Earle Fisher

“I expect more from our black institutions: to stand up against racist and bigoted ideologies, especially to those who have positions of influence and authority over black students,” Fisher said.

Shortly after Graves’ comments came to light, the college’s Student Government Association sent a letter to the professor, calling his comments “appalling.”

“While we agree that we do not have the facts of the case, we are in unanimous disagreement with your verbiage and disregard for the impact which your words would have on the community you serve,” the letter read. “As a professor at a historically black college, you are keenly aware of the challenges unique to the black/African-American community.”

Sainna Christian, the college’s 2019-2020 SGA president, declined to comment on Graves’ returning to the classroom this school year, saying that “at this time, I have no comments on the matter.”